The Academic Senate Committee on Committee on Food Insecurity of the Academic Senate met on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 1 - 2 P.M. Room H-116

Committee Members in Attendance:

Present: Sara Danzi Engoron, Ashlie Klepper (outgoing Committee Chair), Nicole McClam (outgoing Secretary and committee member), Lorraine Cupelli, Liz DiGiorgio, Phillip Nelson (incoming committee member), Angela Gmuca, and Weier Ye (incoming committee member)

SGA Representatives: Davia Willis (President Elect), Emily Diana, Shackeyb Baguaci, and Benjamin Wade

 

 

 

Liaisons in Attendance:

Ms. Ronni Weprin, Administrative Liaison 

 

Business:

The meeting was called to order at 1:04 PM

 

Business:

The meeting was called to order at 1:05 PM.

Old Business

The December minutes were approved pending revisions.

• New Business

  • Members of SGA attended the meeting to introduce themselves and ask how they can work with the CFI.
  • Donations received for Thanksgiving include Grub Hub, Stop & Shop (gift cards), money from the city council, and a regular donor contributed $1,000 to the Food Pantry for perishables.
  • Summer Pantry hours (a want). In the past, we provided prepacked bags at the library. Vicky and Neera offered to keep up with prepacked bags. Does any faculty doing summer teaching want to do an hour over the summer (limited hours or by appointment)?
  • The SGA representatives suggested diversifying options for the Pantry (for example, expanding soup choices, seasonal foods, or extending hours) or connecting with other food pantries. One suggestion was surveying students to see what options they want.
  • We discussed a potential recipe contest. Students using the Pantry would submit recipes that include the Pantry items. The winner would receive a gift card to Key Food. There were questions about how often the contest would take place (monthly?), how to publicize the contest (signs, e-blast, Instagram?), and the criteria for the recipes. Another suggestion was to gather the winning recipes into a cookbook to sell and find sponsors to print the cookbook.
  • On May 15, from 11:00 am-1:00 pm there will be a food distribution event similar to our Thanksgiving Drive. We will distribute prepacked bags of nonperishable items along with some perishables. We need help packing bags or hands on deck to distribute bags on the day.
  • Elections for Committee Chair and Secretary were held. Lorraine Cupelli was elected Committee Chair and Sara Danzi Engoron was elected Secretary

   

Respectfully submitted,

Nicole McClam
Committee on Committee on Food Insecurity of the Academic Senate, Secretary